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Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page.

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  • card_name – bonus_miles_full annual_fees
  • card_name – bonus_miles_full. annual_fees
  • card_name – bonus_miles_full annual_fees

There are now 3 IHG credit cards, co-branded and issued by Chase. Each of the cards comes with its own value proposition, and you’ll need to decide whether the benefits outweigh any annual fee for your particular financial and travel situation. While there is a decent amount of overlap in benefits between the three cards, each card has slightly different benefits. Two of the cards are personal credit cards, while one is a small business credit card. Remember, though, that you may have a business even if you don’t think you do.

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The IHG Premier credit card is the “standard” IHG credit card that is typical for most people. I have this card, and it’s one of the few credit cards that I will pay the annual fee on. The big reason is the annual free night certificates that come with the card. Yes, you’re limited to 40,000 points now, but you can still get outstanding value. I used mine at the Holiday Inn Resort in Jamaica to good success

(SEE ALSO: Holiday Inn Resort Montego Bay Jamaica review)

(SEE ALSO: Where I “wasted” my 2 IHG free night certificates)

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  • bonus_miles_full
  • 1 free night certificate after each anniversary
  • 4th night free when redeeming points
  • 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants.
  • 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • IHG Platinum Elite status
  • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years
  • annual_fees annual fee

Best for: People under 5/24 who don’t have an IHG credit card yet.

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The IHG Traveler credit card is another option to earn IHG points with no annual fee. The benefits aren’t as good as those that come with the Premier card, but it may still be worth it for no annual fee. The spending category bonuses are not great, especially considering that IHG points are only worth around 0.6 or 0.7 cents per point. There is no free night certificate each year, which means there isn’t a ton of reason to hold on to this card long-term. If you’re interested in IHG Points, the IHG Premier credit card is a much better value.

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  • bonus_miles_full
  • 4th night free when redeeming points
  • 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on dining, utilities, select streaming services, and at gas stations
  • 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • IHG Silver Elite status
  • $0 annual fee

Best for: People who are concerned about paying an annual fee

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The IHG Premier Business credit card is a relatively new offering from Chase, as it was only introduced earlier this year. The IHG Premier Business credit card can be a good fit if you already have the IHG Premier personal credit card and are looking for more IHG points or additional free night awards. You have to be under Chase 5/24 to be approved for the IHG Premier Business credit card, but as a business credit card, it shouldn’t count towards your 5/24 status for additional cards.

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  • bonus_miles_full
  • 1 free night certificate after each anniversary
  • 4th night free when redeeming points
  • 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, dining, select business, and at gas stations.
  • 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • IHG Platinum Elite status
  • annual_fees annual fee

Best for: Business owners, people who are concerned about 5/24 or people who already have the IHG Premier personal card

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Which IHG Credit Card is Best?

As I mentioned in my post the other day, there are currently 3 IHG credit cards, the IHG Premier (that we’re talking about here), the IHG Premier Business and the no-fee IHG Traveler. Currently, the free night for the first year is only on the IHG Premier card – the IHG Premier Business card offers a free night, but only on your card anniversary. The IHG Traveler card does not currently offer a free night certificate. All 3 cards offer the 4th night free on award stays.

If you don’t have any IHG credit card right now, my recommendation would be to get the IHG Premier card. It has a great welcome bonus and the annual free night certificate is (for me)  easily worth the $99 annual fee. If you already have that card, then consider the IHG Premier Business credit card. If you don’t feel comfortable applying for a business credit card and you don’t want to pay the fee of the IHG Premier credit card, then you might consider the no-fee IHG Traveler credit card, though IMO it’s barely worth a 5/24 slot (if at all). The terms of the Premier and Traveler card both say that you can’t get the card if you have the other.

As always, don’t apply for a credit card just because some guy on the internet said you should, but if you are planning on applying and would like to support the site, we appreciate it.

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  • card_name – bonus_miles_full. annual_fees
  • card_name – bonus_miles_full. annual_fees

Do you have any of these 3 IHG credit cards? Which one do you think is best? Leave your thoughts in the comments


Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them

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